Mladić's Defence Granted Leave to Appeal

The Trial Chamber of the Hague Tribunal today granted Ratko Mladić's Defence leave to appeal a decision in which the Court rejected the Defence's claim that the accused's right to a fair trial had been violated.

In mid-May, Mladić's Defence claimed that the accused's right to a fair trial had been violated because legal assistants to the judges who participated in drafting the conviction of Radovan Karadžić were now providing the same assistance to the judges in the proceedings against Mladić, BIRN reports, as carried by NAP.

According to the Defence, this violated the fundamental procedural rule that Mladić is innocent until proven guilty at trial.

The Defence then requested that the Trial Chamber provide detailed information on which judicial assistants from the "Karadžić" case were involved in the proceedings against Mladić. Alternatively, the defence lawyers requested that the entire proceedings against Mladić be declared invalid due to the violation of his right to a fair trial.

In March, the Tribunal, in a non-final verdict, sentenced Karadžić, the former president of Republika Srpska, to 40 years in prison for genocide in Srebrenica, persecution of Bosniaks and Croats throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina, terrorizing the population of Sarajevo, and taking UNPROFOR members hostage.

Mladić, the wartime commander of the Army of Republika Srpska, is being tried on the same charges.

In early July, the Trial Chamber rejected the Defence's claim that the trial of Mladić was unfair, emphasizing that decisions and verdicts are made exclusively by judges, not their legal assistants.

The Defence then requested that this decision be reviewed or that they be granted leave to appeal it.

The judges rejected the request to review their decision but allowed Mladić's Defence to appeal it, considering it an important issue that could affect the swift and fair progress of the proceedings, as carried by NAP.